Mediocrity, the middle name of the Highlanders?

I read an article a few weeks ago which promoted the idea of scrapping the Highlanders name.

I have to agree. New coach, new CEO, new players, new stadium, new competition, new attitude.

The Highlanders franchise has come 8^th, 12^th, 4^th, 2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th, 4^th, 7^th, 9^th, 8^th, 9^th, 9^th, 11^th, 12^th, and it is the last seven years which stick in my head. Seven years without making the semi-finals.

Seven.

Granted they had their heyday with the likes of Oliver, Meeuws, Brown, Wilson, Randell, and Kronfeld on their books, but now the name has become associated with mediocrity.

What team in their right mind would truly feel the passion in an amalgamation of two die hard rivals. Then for that same team to take on the name of one of the provinces in the rivalry is totally unfathomable.

Who from Southland truly supports the Highlanders?

Who from Otago truly supports the Highlanders?

Which other team generally gets excited about playing the Highlanders?

Which other team’s supporters get excited about playing the Highlanders?

Yes there are the passionate people, namely Dean Hohaia, the craziest of the bunch (refer pic below), but to me it is an arranged marriage.

Sometimes things go a bit far in our new PC world, the groom shouldn’t have to take the bride’s last name.

Yes, the Southlander’s can hardly be the brides. They show guts, passion, the ability to dig deep, the want to succeed, and what’s more the knowledge of how to win. They are the real men of the south.

They have had a few weeks off the boiler in the ITM Cup, but that has been nothing compared to Otago. Otago are dismal, lying in last place, it makes a mockery of the Super 15 to have a team named after that region.

You look at Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury and Waikato – all top four teams, all have naming rights.

You certainly wouldn’t call the Hurricanes the Manawatu Hurricanes would you?

You can’t have the Otago Boozers, or the Southland Stunners (lets face it, which good looking New Zealanders come from down there)

But…

Here’s an idea. ‘The Southern Razorbacks.’

All the players aren’t from Southland, and a razor back is something you associate with the province of Otago, and the ‘Southern’ implies that whole area.

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Here’s the PR exercise. Rebrand them.

Everything is fresh, everything feels new.

As I said, New coach, new staff, new CEO, new players, new stadium new competition, new attitude.

The tagline could be,

‘new coach, new players, new competition, same supporters.’

Everything is new, fresh, and has a positive outlook. Just please do me a favour, lose the bloody name.

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PS.

While we’re at it too, no point using that new stadium – Super 14 teams found it bloody hard to win in Invercargill, and for me that won’t change. Just play the home games there. Gosh the supporters down there deserve it.